Allegra and Ruby’s Morning Routine

It’s no secret that cats are creatures of habit, and that they like their routines. Not surprisingly, cats’ routines will develop around their humans’ schedule and household routines. While such a routine driven life may seem boring to humans, it helps cats feel safe and confident. In fact, routines are so important to cats that having them disrupted can even impact their physical health.

I was going to tell you about Allegra and Ruby’s morning routine, but they wanted to tell you in their own words.

Allegra: I’m usually up first. I get up between 3 and 4am, and patrol the house to make sure everything is in order. I’m very quiet when I do this, because I don’t want to wake Mom and Ruby. Once I’ve made sure that it’s safe for Mom and Ruby to get up, I go back to bed for a little while longer.

Ruby: I like to sleep curled up against Mom, and I’m not going to budge until she starts moving around, which is usually around 4:30am. Once she does that, I know it won’t be long until she gets up and feeds us breakfast, so I stretch and start to wash myself.

Allegra: Once I know Mom is starting to wake up, I help the process along by walking up and down the side of the bed. Sometimes, I even nip at her hand or foot if they’re sticking out from under the covers.

Ruby: Allegra, you know Mom doesn’t like it when you do that!

Allegra: Oh, like you should talk! You’ve been known to bounce up and down on Mom when she takes her time waking up!

Ruby: blows raspberry at Allegra.

Allegra: Once Mom sits up on the side of the bed, I get really excited. I start racing out of the bedroom and wait for her in the hallway.

Ruby: I escort Mom to the bathroom. It’s where I eat my breakfast, so I make sure she gets there okay and doesn’t get lost along the way.

Allegra: Once Mom closes the door on Ruby in the bathroom, I lead the way into the kitchen, and I watch closely while she gets our breakfast ready. Sometimes, that seems to take forever, so I nip at her toes to speed things along. It never seems to work, if anything, it slows things down because she stops what she’s doing and tells me “Allegra, don’t.” But I just can’t help myself. Once I smell our food, I get so excited. Thankfully, Mom puts my dish down first before she takes Ruby’s food into the bathroom.

Ruby: I can hear Mom getting things ready in the kitchen, and when she comes into the bathroom with my breakfast, I’m so happy! Yummies!

Allegra: After I finish my breakfast, Mom puts my dish away. I sit in front of the bathroom door and wait for Ruby to finish.

Ruby: Mom always praises me when I finish my breakfast. She calls me a “finicky eater” sometimes. I don’t know what that means, but some days, I just don’t want my entire meal. On those days, she still says “good  girl, Ruby” but she doesn’t sound as happy as she does on “clean plate club” days.

Allegra: Once Ruby comes out of the bathroom, I try to chase her and play with her, but most mornings, she’d rather look out the window.

Ruby: Allegra, it’s not healthy to run around right after eating!

Allegra: Once Mom has fed us, she gets her coffee and sits in front of the computer. At that point, we know that she’s lost to us for the next couple of hours, so we usually take a little nap.

Ruby: I like my after breakfast nap, but I also can’t wait for Mom to take her first break of the day in the morning – because it means she’ll play with us!

Allegra: She gets the fun toys out of the hall closet, and we both get to play until we’re tired!

Ruby: And then we get treats!

Allegra: Sometimes, I keep Mom company while she has her breakfast (and maybe taste test her yogurt or smoothies, just to make sure it’s okay for her to eat,) but most mornings, I’m ready for a nice long nap at that point.

Ruby: I wait for Mom to finish her breakfast, and then I follow her to her office, where I settle in for a nice long nap on the window perch next to her desk. I know she works better with me close by.

And now we’d like to hear about your kitties’ morning routine – share it in a comment.

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